1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bottle-and-cap systems; and more particularly to provision of childproof caps, and to provision of containers whose prior opening is rendered permanently conspicuous.
2. Prior Art
Many systems have been devised for preventing access by small children to bottles containing medicine or other substances. Most of these systems involve use of compound motions--such as pushing down on a cap while unscrewing it, or first rotating a cap to a certain angular position and then unsnapping it.
A typical complaint regarding these systems is that children seem to be able somehow to defeat them and open the containers, while adults--particularly adults with failing eyesight, failing manual dexterity, or failing mental acuity, but also adults who simply do not have a great deal of aptitude for mechanical gadgetry--have considerable difficulty opening the containers. In fact, the difficulty is so great that most pharmacies now offer all their patrons a choice between childproof and "nonchildproof" containers- Needless to say, this additional complication of commerce, and of the everyday lives of the elderly, is highly undesirable.
Another disadvantage of these systems is that many of them require two-part (or multipart) construction of the covers. The internal snap ring or guide ferrule adds substantially to the overall cost of such a container system. Worse yet, these compound constructions introduce an element of manufacturing tolerances--and thereby an element of uncertainty and aggravated frustration: when a cover cannot be removed, there is no way to tell whether it is the hapless adult or the invisible but apparent inner guide ring that is at fault.
Dealing with the protection of children from their own curiosity is a difficult enough problem, but this problem is exacerbated by a further complication of modern packaging--the phenomenon of deliberate tampering with medicines, foodstuffs and the like by sadistic or otherwise mismotivated individuals. In recent years there have been many instances of apparently intentional contamination of medicine and food inventories by poison, animal droppings, and other kinds of offensive, dangerous or lethal foreign substances.
Numerous types of extra shrink-on wrappings, breakable wire or plastic rings, and the like have been devised to make it apparent whether prior opening of a container has occurred. These systems add monumental manufacturing complexity and cost, which of course are clearly an enormous social waste since only a tiny fraction of a percent of all such containers are ever subject to tampering. Worse yet, to make these "tamper-evident" systems really work it is necessary to make them at least slightly resistant to removal, and this adds further to the annoyance of the elderly and the nonmechanical alike in gaining access to their medicines, foodstuffs, and other needed supplies.